Sewanee Wellness Commons

Located on a hill near the center of campus, the building was envisioned as a beacon of activity, reflecting the student body’s extracurricular focus on health, wellness, and outdoor recreation. The facility combines wellness resources that were spread university-wide, providing a one-stop location for students to access fitness activities, group classes, medical attention, and social engagement.  The project scope included indoor and outdoor gathering areas, group fitness rooms, fitness equipment rooms, an outdoor equipment rental shop, and clinic and staff offices. The building’s primary frontage is an early 1900s stone masonry building that served as the university’s first bookstore. The addition is set back from the street to give prominence to the original building and to make space for the terraced entry. Because the rear of the site slopes downhill, the majority of the program in the addition is located on the lower level and under the terrace. This massing strategy allows the addition to remain “hidden in plain sight,” while housing nearly six times the space as the original building.